Battle of Loma Herbosa

The Battle of Loma Herbosa, nicknamed the "Devil's Den of Mexico", was a major battle of the Mexican-American War that took place on 9 September 1847 near Mexico City. A large Mexican army coming to the relief of the besieged Mexico City was met by a smaller American force at Loma Herbosa ("Grassy Knoll"), a rocky area that was called "Devil's Den of Mexico" in retrospect by Mexican War and American Civil War veterans. The Americans won a narrow victory over the Mexican Army, and the siege of Ciudad Mexico continued.

Background
The land called "Loma Herbosa" was a two-mile swathe of rocks and hills, with very little vegetation or water. The large rock mounds proved to be adequate cover for sharpshooters and cannon, and the lack of water or food was a weapon in itself. Loma Herbosa means "Grassy Knoll" in Spanish, although some veterans of the battle as well as the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War would call it in retrospect "The Devil's Den of Mexico", referring to a similar land formation in Pennsylvania back in the United States.

With the capital of Mexico City under siege from Winfield Scott's American army, President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ordered for Felipe Gardenas Amoro, Jose Pablo Santanilla, and Fabricio Culon to bring 50,000 Mexican troops from the remote areas of northern Mexico to the relief of the federal district surroundig the city. Scott had 70,000 volunteers plus more men, but he refused to take away the professional line infantry from the siege, so he was left with raw militia.

Scott decided to choose Loma Herbosa in order to take away the advantage of a match of experience; the Mexicans had better-quality line infantry. In a confused pell-mell battle, Scott believed that militiamen with the cover of rocks could defeat professional line infantry, which had worked in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Battle
The Mexican Army was confounded by Scott's plan, as General Amoro did not anticipate Scott's decision to create a bloody mess of a battle on purpose. He dispatched Santanilla's brigade to advance in conjunction with Luis Pasquale de Ocana's regiment of foot, while Fabricio Culon exploited a gap in the American line caused by a rock formation. When the plan was put into action, the Americans began to fire from cover and a large bloody fight began. The Americans closed their wings on Culon's division, inflicting maximum casualties on them, and the Americans counterattacked, carrying the day.

Culon was killed in the battle, while Amoro and Santanilla were captured. Many Mexican soldiers were killed in the battle, as many wounded were left for dead and untended to. Scott achieved the decisive victory that he sought, and he continued his siege of Mexico. The city fell on the 15th of September.